7th Annual Cousin's Camping

7 years running and the weather on Cuzzies Camping always seems to surprise us.  We've had everything from extreme heat (6 years ago it was SUPER HOT like this year) to snow and just about every temperature in between.  You guys sure are troopers to continue to put up with us touring you around the Midwest in search of new and interesting places to camp.  This year was Devil's Lake and even though it was near 100 degrees when we did our 3 mile, 2 hour hike, the views were amazing and the hike was worth it!

Even Hiker Hazel and Abby stuck with us and hiked the entire way.  This year we've really made huge strides in the hiking department.  We no longer carry them in the backpacks and even Abby was excited to explore (well, I should clarify, she was excited at the beginning, far less so at the end!).

And, after our long hot hike it seemed like a terrific idea to load up our chairs and a cooler and head to the beach.  That is, it was a great idea for the 15 minutes we were there before the downpour!  But, we made the most of it and laughed the entire way home.  

All in all, another great trip in the books.  We always look forward to Cuzzies Camping each year.  Our group changes a little each year (some years we've had nearly 20 people) and as more new babies are being added it's going to grow even more.  We're already planning for next year's trip...and potentially Cuzzies Upgraded 2020 (in which we ditch the campers and tents for an all inclusive beach resort in Feb).  We'll see!

That time Hazel cut her own hair.....

Well friends, we've come to the end of an era.  The era in which I successfully raised two daughters for seven years without anyone cutting their own hair.  I suppose on some level it was bound to happen, but it didn't make me any happier about it, let me tell you!  So we'll start with a before picture (above).  This is Hazel, just a few short days before she got a hold of some scissors in her room.  Insert Duh...Duh...Duh music now....

Ryan and I just sat down from dinner when Hazel came down from her room with her Barbie saying, "Look how pretty I am...I cut my hair".  No joke guys...my fork dropped to my plate.  "Wait what?"

 Yep, that's right, that's two huge snips out of her hair.  At two different lengths.  Not to mention that she also cut her Barbie's hair.  I wasn't up there to see, but I imagine it went something like "I wonder what would happen if I cut my Barbie's hair?"  Which lead to "That looks nice, I should do it to mine too".  Insert eye roll!

When I asked her where her hair was she told me it was upstairs in her garbage can...I suppose at least she had the good sense to not make me clean up a mess on top of it!  Long story short, I was not please.  Ryan was a little more "kids will be kids" about it than I was....I fumed about it for awhile and then decided to grab a beer and deal with it the next day.

I was torn about taking her to a salon.  On the one hand I was furious at her for cutting her own hair...she knows better.  And I didn't want her to get to do a new, fun (and fancy) thing because she was naughty!  We don't get rewards when we do naughty things!  On the other hand, I have been TRYING to get her hair long enough to get back in a pony for YEARS.  It's always in her face and always tangled and messy.  I didn't want her looking crazy and I wanted a fix for my own personal sanity.  So...to the salon we went...

Little turd!  I'm pretty happy with the result.  They added some bangs in the front and a little bit of layers on the one side to help make it look intentional.  At the end of the day it looks fine.  I know that this too shall pass and it'll be grown out before I know it.  But, in that moment, I was not a pleased Mommy!

I write this blog so that we can look back on our family and read about our ups and our downs.  So that we can remember all these little moments that make up our life stories but also tend to get lost in the cracks.

Hazel's 4th Birthday Party

I can hardly believe that my little tiny Hazel is a four year old!!  And maybe it's just something about second kids...or maybe it's just Hazel, but this little girl sure is in a hurry to grow up!  As soon as we told her she should start saying she's four when people ask "how old are you" she immediately started answering "I'm six".  This kid!  She went from "I'm free and a half" to "I'm six" in just one day!

Hazel's birthday is on June 29th meaning it's so close to the 4th of July that we are often gone vacationing when it's her birthday.  We did a big first birthday party for her but her second birthday we were Up North and her third we were at KL so....this year it was time to do it up big and throw this sweet little girl a real summer birthday party of her own!

Every birthday since Abby turned one, Ellyn had a custom cupcake made for the girls from a bakery in Geneva.  Erin and Dan now carry on the tradition and it's honestly one of my favorite parts about the kids birthdays.  We always talk about some ideas for the cupcakes but I'm always just as surprised as the kids are when I finally see them.  This year Hazel had this sweet unicorn cupcake with a special candle and purple frosting (because purple is her favorite color, of course). 

We've been SO lucky with weather every time we've thrown one of this summer birthday parties.  I'm sure I've jinxed it for the next one, but somehow we always get sunny, albeit HOT, days that are perfect for the pool, perfect for outdoor activities (like the bounce house) and perfect for celebrating our little girls!

Thank yo to everyone who made the drive out to help celebrate our sweet little Hazel Frances.  She's still talking about her special day and how much fun she had and how special she felt.  She (and we!) felt the love that day! 

1 Family x 12 (July)

Happy Birthday USA - from the McGrath's.